District to review safety after child killed at bus stop

By Robert Stanton |
September 25, 2012
| Updated: September 26, 2012 7:56am

Christina Lopez was in the street when struck by a neighbor's truck on Monday, police said.

Texas City school officials may consider new safety measures at neighborhood bus stops after a truck driver struck and killed his 11-year-old neighbor Monday as she was waiting for a school bus near her home, a school official said Tuesday.

"Every year we evaluate our safety procedures, and this tragedy is going to allow us to reflect and discuss how we can continue to make improvements for our children's safety, including at bus stops," said Melissa Tortorici, spokeswoman at the Texas City Independent School District.

The driver, 45, was on his way to work when he turned south onto the street where Christina was waiting by herself.

The driver remained at the scene and did not appear to be intoxicated, Texas City police said.

No charges have been filed.

School district officials called in counselors from other campuses to help the Fry Intermediate students process the loss of the vivacious girl, who was a member of the school's cheer squad.

"Today (Tuesday) is harder for us because yesterday many of the students didn't know (about the accident)," Tortorici said. "There's a lot of emotions, as you can imagine. It's a school of 930 kids, all fifth- and sixth-graders. Christina was a good student and she was well liked. Our community is a small community, so if you didn't know her personally you knew someone who knew her personally.'

Meanwhile, Texas City police assigned patrols to the neighborhood after reports that rocks were thrown at the home of the truck driver.